Changeable display construction



Jan. 7, 1969 R. v. MISAUSKAS 3,419,983

CHANGEABLE DISPLAY CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 19, 1966 Sheet of 2 BY fiaimundas V Misauskas ATTYS l2 INVENTOR Jan. 7, 1969 R. v. MISAUSKAS 3,419,988

CHANGEABLE DISPLAY CONSTRUCTION I Filed Oct. 19, 1966 Sheet 2 of 2 PIC-3.7 FIG.8 52

United States Patent Oflice 3,419,988 Patented Jan. 7, 1969 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A display assembly comprising a rigid base plate having a series of rods each having one of its ends revomably secured to said base plate. The free ends of the rods support a display sign panel. Movable animating screens with or without associated illuminating means may be mounted on the base plate to enhance the appearance of the display.

This invention relates to a display construction of the type generally used for advertising purposes. In particular, the invention is concerned with a structure which simplifies changing from one display to another whereby a variety of displays can be used without undue effort or expense.

A large number of displays or portions thereof are only intended for temporary use. Thus, various advertising displays are constantly changed in order to permit advertising of different products or services or in order to provide variety. In the case of displays used for other purposes, various changes are often made due to changes in circumstances involving the particular displays.

It is highly desirable to provide means which permit the changing of displays with a minimum of effort and expense. For example, it can be both time consuming and costly for a retailer if display means are unwieldly or complicated in design. It is particularly desirable to provide display constructions which require only a few changes for purposes of providing a completely new display. Thus, it is desirable to avoid complete dismantling of a display and its supporting structure when a change is to be 1 accomplished.

It is a general object of this invention to provide an improved display construction which permits one to change the display with a minimum of effort and expense.

It is a more particular object of this invention to provide a display construction which is characterized by simplified means for changing displays whereby only a few simple steps are involved in accomplishing a change and whereby all or substantially all of the display supporting structure can be used in combination with a variety of different displays.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a display construction adapted to accomplish the foregoing objects and, at the same time, be suitable for use in combination with displays having a wide range of sizes and shapes whereby a common supporting structure can be employed irrespective of the nature of the display.

These and other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter and for purposes of illustration, but not of limitation, specific embodiments of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view illustrating a form of the display construction of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the construction shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating supporting structure employed in the construction;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken about the line 44 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a detail view illustrating a rod-like element employed in the construction of the invention;

FIGURE 6 illustrates an alternative form of the invention employed for attaching a display to a pole; and,

FIGURES 7 and 8 illustrate modified rod-like elements adapted to be employed in the construction.

This invention generally relates to a construction including a main support means and associated display holding members. The display holding members comprise rodlike members which are removably secured to the main support. Displays are adapted to be easily attached to the rod-like members. In addition, these rod-like members can be detached from the main support whereby dilferent rod-like members could be employed in conjunction with different displays.

The invention is also directed to improved means for connecting rod-like means to a support member whereby other elements can be attached to the rod-like members. Such other elements may comprise displays or other articles which are to be suspended for various reasons.

The display construction 10, illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2, comprises a main support plate 12. Rods 14 are attached at each corner of the rectangular support plate. A display 16 comprising a flexible sheet is secured at the outer ends of the rods 14. In the embodiment shown, each of the rods 14 includes a bent-over outer end portion 18 adapted to fit into openings defined by tabs 20 carried by the display. It will be appreciated that various other means can be employed for securing the display to the rods 14.

The rods 14 are secured to the plate 12 by inserting the bent-over inner end 22 into openings 24 defined by the plate 12. As best shown in FIGURE 3, the rods 14 ecome pivotally movable with respect to the plate 12 when the ends 22 are inserted in these holes. Resilient clamp members 26 are formed by punching through the plate 12. These clamp members include a narrow entry portion which is smaller than the thickness of a rod 14. When the rod is pivoted to the dotted line position shown in FIGURE 3, the narrow opening of the clamps is spread and the rod is then clamped into position in the larger portion defined by the clamp.

The plate 12 is adapted to accommodate various means for providing versatility in displays. Light bulbs 28 and associated socket portions are held in position by means of brackets 30. A motor mounting bracket 32 is also provided for supporting a motor 34.

When a partially translucent or transparent display 16 is employed, the lights can be utilized for improving the attractiveness of the display. The motor 34 can be employed for supporting a motion disc 36 having a moire or color pattern displayed thereon. This arrangement, with or without the lights, can also provide an extremely attractive display.

In the use of the construction described, the plate 12 can be mounted on a wall by means of mounting openings 38 or 40. Alternately, the palte can be supported on legs of a suitable design. The rods 14 can then be snapped into place and the display 16 is then attached to the rods.

It will be appreciated that a variety of different displays can be readily associated with the support plate 12. A display kit can be provided with its particular rods 14 whereby a display of virtually any size or configuration can be associated with the same support plate. This eliminates the need for changing the support plate every time a new display is to be employed. Furthermore, the brackets permitting lighting or use of a motion disc are always available. Finally, the ease of assembly of the described parts provides an extremely desirable arrangement.

FIGURE 6 illustrates an alternative form of the invention wherein a display 42 is adapted to be associated with a pole 44 such as employed in gas stations for advertising purposes. A channel-shaped support member 46 is adapted to be attached to the pole, for example by means of the fasteners 48 illustrated, or by other means such as adjustable metal strap arrangements commonly used for such purposes. In this manner, the support member will be more or less permanently associated with the pole. The rods 14 are readily associated with the support by means of clamps 26.

It will be noted that the rods illustrated in FIGURE 2 extend angularly outwardly from the support plate whereby the display 16 can be quite large relative to the size of the support plate. This eliminates a great deal of material and handling weight and, as indicated, greatly facilitates the use of displays of different sizes.

FIGURES 7 and 8 illustrate other possible forms for the rods. The rod 50 illustrated in FIGURE 7 is bent at a right angle and includes an eyelet 52 for attaching a display. The rod 54 of FIGURE 8 presents a curved configuration. As indicated, displays can be supplied with rods having a particular configuration designed to accommodate the particular display. A standard support plate can then be utilized irrespective of the size of the rods or display. It will be obvious, however, that some rods could be used many times with respect to displays of the same or similar size.

The rods can be formed from a material having a relatively large diameter whereby the rods will be sufficiently stiff to support displays of significant weight. On the other hand, it is contemplated that the rods could be bent into desired shapes by a user of the displays as long as the rods are sufficiently stiff after bending to provide support for the display. Obviously, the clamping members 26 can be formed whereby the rods can be situated in horizontal or vertical positions in addition to the angular positions shown. Finally, a large number of the clamping members can be formed at various locations on the support plate even though only a few of the clamping members may be used at any given time.

It will be understood that various changes and modifications may be made in the above described constructions which provide the characteristics of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof particularly as defined in the following claims,

That which is claimed is:

1. In a display construction wherein means are provided for removably holding a display whereby the display can be periodicallychanged, the improvement in said holding means comprising a main support member, a plurality of elongated rod-like members removably secured to said main support, said rod-like members including projections formed at their inner ends, the securing means for said rod-like members comprising means associated with said support member for receiving said projections, and resilient elements for clamping the rod-like members in position when the projections are so received, and ineluding means at the outer ends of said rod-like members for removably holding said display.

2. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said display is formed of a material adapted to at least partially transmit light, and including a bracket provided on said main support member for holding a light in position directly behind the display.

3. A construction in accordance with claim 1 including a motor bracket located on said main support member, a motor held by said bracket, and means operated by said motor adapted to be moved behind the display for thereby changing the appearance of the display.

4. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said rod-like members are mounted adjacent the corners of said main support member, said rod-like members extending angularly outwardly from said corners whereby the display held by the rod-like members is adapted to be substantially larger in size than the main support member.

5. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said main support member is permanently attached to a pole, and wherein said rod-like members are adapted to be changed whereby displays of a variety of different sizes can be mounted in association with the pole.

6. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein said rod-like members are formed of a material adapted to be bent into different shapes for thereby accommodating displays of different configurations.

7. A construction in accordance with claim 1 wherein the securing means for said rod-like members comprise holes formed in said main support member, the projections formed in said rod-like members comprising bentover end portions adapted to be received in said holes, said holes providing pivot points for the rod-like members whereby the rod-like members are adapted to be moved into and out of association with said resilient members.

8. A construction in accordance with claim 7 wherein said resilient elements comprise punched out portions of said main support member, said resilient elements including a narrow entry portion and an adjacent larger portion for receiving said rod-like members, the rod-like members being adapted to spread said entry portion during movement into said larger portion.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,860,323 5/1932 Ebeling 40125 X 1,873,178 8/1932 Bernstein 40125 3,076,277 2/1963 Maze 40-130 3,225,476 12/1965 Bockmann 40130 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner.

W. J. CONTRERAS, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

